Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the stampede that occurred near the Gundicha Temple in Odisha's Puri during the Rath Yatra, calling the tragedy a serious warning on the need for strict crowd control and security arrangements. At least three devotees, including two women, lost their lives and around 50 others sustained injuries in the incident, which took place early Sunday around 4 a.m. The deceased have been identified as Basanti Sahu, 36, from Bolagarh, Premakant Mohanty, 80, and Pravati Das, 42, both from Balipatna.
In a post in Hindi on social media platform X, Gandhi said, “The stampede incident during the Rath Yatra in Puri is extremely tragic. I express my deep condolences to the bereaved families and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured devotees.”
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The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the Odisha government must expedite relief operations and called on Congress workers to assist in every possible way.
“This tragedy is a serious warning – for such large events, security arrangements and crowd management preparations must be taken seriously and thoroughly reviewed. Protecting lives is paramount, and no lapses in this responsibility are acceptable.”
According to the reports, the chaos began when two trucks carrying ritual materials entered a heavily crowded area near the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra. Devotees had gathered in large numbers since early morning to witness the removal of the 'Pahuda' cloth covering the faces of the deities as part of the rituals.
Puri District Collector Siddharth S Swain reportedly said the injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital. The condition of six persons is reported to be critical.